These days, Vin Diesel‘s name is practically synonymous with flashy action flicks like the Fast and the Furious franchise and the Riddick series. But back when he was starting out, it was actually a little indie drama that helped usher him into the spotlight. Specifically, a 20-minute short titled Multi-Facial, which Diesel wrote, directed, and starred in himself, based on his own real-life troubles landing roles due to his ambiguous ethnicity.

The movie garnered some positive buzz at Cannes 1995, one thing led to another, and a few years later Steven Spielberg was sufficiently impressed by this young star to give him a big break in Saving Private Ryan. Multi-Facial obviously isn’t a new film, but it’s worth checking out for a glimpse of the tough-guy movie star when he was young and hungry. Watch it after the jump.